Spot Reviews 10/03/25
Oct 03 2025
The Final Countdown (1980) [+] The US aircraft carrier Nimitz is caught in a weird storm and ends up back in December 6th, 1941. With the power to stop the Japanese sneak attack and sink their fleet will the Nimitz change history? It's a good cast with Kirk Douglas as the Captain of the Nimitz, Martin Sheen as a defense contractor system analyst fortuitously assigned to the Nimitz for this voyage, James Farentino as the CAG (commander of the air group), Charles Durning as a US Senator who supposedly died on Dec 6th, and Katharine Ross as the Senator's secretary and behind-the-scenes speech writer. This film has not the best plot but does have a whole lot of authentic carrier ops as it was filmed on an aircraft carrier and the film crew was allowed to film a lot of stuff.
Doctor Who: Hidden Mysteries (2023) [/] Apple Arcade hidden object game wrapped with a Doctor Who storyline starring the Thirteenth Doctor and her companion Yasmin Khan. The hidden object levels are not that hard and even less so with powers. There are also some mini-games. Good storyline animation with characters walking around and talking about the mystery. Nice graphics. I guess this is aimed at a younger audience in terms of difficulty.
Grand Mountain Adventure+ (2023) [/] Apple Arcade version of this skiing game. It's a ski resort where you can do various courses for time and do tricks as you down the mountain. The mountain also has lots of bonus areas you can trek to and do. Apparently other activities as you go the next mountain and so on. I guess there's a certain lack of story though even though you're always controlling your guy and after a run you have to get him to the next area for that challenge. The freeform format seems purposeless.
Summon Quest (2023) [/] Apple Arcade action/arcade game with a fantasy theme. In each level control a character and fight monsters. You can also summon helpers with special powers, though they only last a few seconds. Bit more of an arcade game as different enemies have specific attacks you can dodge and behaviors you can take advantage of. I guess plays well with a controller. Not a particularly interesting game though.
Superstar Dim Sum and Seafood Restaurant, San Mateo [/] Low cost American-Chinese in downtown San Mateo with food that tastes just fine. A fair number of tables if you want to dine in with a large group.
Doctor Who: Hidden Mysteries (2023) [/] Apple Arcade hidden object game wrapped with a Doctor Who storyline starring the Thirteenth Doctor and her companion Yasmin Khan. The hidden object levels are not that hard and even less so with powers. There are also some mini-games. Good storyline animation with characters walking around and talking about the mystery. Nice graphics. I guess this is aimed at a younger audience in terms of difficulty.
Grand Mountain Adventure+ (2023) [/] Apple Arcade version of this skiing game. It's a ski resort where you can do various courses for time and do tricks as you down the mountain. The mountain also has lots of bonus areas you can trek to and do. Apparently other activities as you go the next mountain and so on. I guess there's a certain lack of story though even though you're always controlling your guy and after a run you have to get him to the next area for that challenge. The freeform format seems purposeless.
Summon Quest (2023) [/] Apple Arcade action/arcade game with a fantasy theme. In each level control a character and fight monsters. You can also summon helpers with special powers, though they only last a few seconds. Bit more of an arcade game as different enemies have specific attacks you can dodge and behaviors you can take advantage of. I guess plays well with a controller. Not a particularly interesting game though.
Superstar Dim Sum and Seafood Restaurant, San Mateo [/] Low cost American-Chinese in downtown San Mateo with food that tastes just fine. A fair number of tables if you want to dine in with a large group.